First launched in 1939, the IWC Portugieser has become an iconic piece of horological design thanks to its long and storied past as one of the first "big watches" to make it to market. Forging a reputation as a large and robust timepiece that straddles the line between a sports watch and dress watch, it features a large case, vintage-style pump pushers in its chronograph variants, immensely legible Arabic numerals, and clear subdials – all elements that combine to create an aesthetic that is timeless as IWC remain rooted to the collection’s original design brief. Relaunched in 1993, the Portugieser became an immensely popular collection within IWC’s arsenal, and so it was expanded upon to include a perpetual calendar variant in 2006. Offered here, we have a stainless steel silver dial variant of the Portugieser Perpetual Calendar, the ref. IW344203 with charming gold applied Arabic numerals and matching gold hands that contrast their bright backdrop with a stunningly luxurious effect, much in keeping with IWC’s theme as a luxury watchmaker. Featuring a trio of subdials at 3 , 6, and 9 o’clock for each of its displays, the ref. IW344203 features a bevy of information such as the day, month, date, leap year, and moon’s phase.

Classically inspired thanks to its complication, yet modern in its execution thanks to its robust stainless steel construction, the IW344203 is the perfect embodiment of where IWC has gone in terms of their modern strategy as a luxury watchmaker.